Molecular Cryo-Electron Microscopy Unit Helps Reveal Structure of Cancer Killing Virus

For the first time, scientists at OIST and the University of Otago have described exactly how the Seneca Valley virus interacts with tumors -- and why it leaves healthy tissues alone.

An international team of researchers at OIST and University of Otago have used the Nobel-winning cryo-electron microscopy method to reconstruct the structure of Seneca Valley virus, abbreviated SVV, at near-atomic resolution. The structure shows how the virus binds to its cellular receptor, the Anthrax toxin receptor. Type 1 of this receptor is selectively expressed in up to 60% of human cancer cells and allows the virus to infect and destroy them while not affecting healthy cells.

The study, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, reveals how the virus can recognize its target and leave normal tissue alone.

Read the full story here.

Media Coverage: